Chelsea's Manager Enzo Maresca Labels Lead-Up Time as His 'Toughest Two Days' with the Blues

Chelsea gaffer Enzo Maresca remarked that the run-up to the weekend's win against Everton represented "the toughest 48 hours" he has experienced with the London club.

The 44-year-old offered a somewhat cryptic comment in his post-match press conference despite earning a 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge thanks to strikes from Cole Palmer and Malo Gusto.

Those three precious points lifted Chelsea back into the English top flight's top four, potentially improving the atmosphere after a defeat to Atalanta in the Champions League that had extended the team's winless run to four outings.

Yet, when questioned about Gusto's contribution and overall performance, Maresca unexpectedly disclosed his displeasure over the preceding two days at the organization.

"How the lads want to improve has been fantastic and this is the explanation why I praise them - because with so many problems, they are doing very well after a complicated week," he stated.

"Since I joined the club, the previous 48 hours have been the worst because a lot of people failed to back us."

Pressed on his meaning, the former Leicester City manager continued: "Worst 48 hours since I joined the club because people didn't support me and the team."

When questioned if he meant people internally at Chelsea, he replied: "In general. Overall," before clarifying when queried if it was directed towards supporters or the media: "I love the fans and we are very happy with the fans."

Fitness and Disciplinary Crisis

Maresca also drew attention to Chelsea's persistent fitness and suspension problems, noting they had been without key forward Cole Palmer for a large portion of the season, in addition to being deprived of key midfielder Moises Caicedo to a three-game ban and striker Liam Delap to a couple of significant injuries.

"I really applaud the players and the squad because we played 16 Premier League games, five of them without Moises Caicedo, 11 of them without Cole Palmer, almost all of them without Liam Delap," he explained.

"And this squad, no matter who is playing, they are performing brilliantly. Today was five games in 12 days so certainly when you see Cole Palmer available, we have said many times that he's our top player but we play the vast majority of the season minus our top player.

"We play five games in the Premier League without Moises Caicedo. This is the reason why I'm so delighted for the players and it's something that I would want people externally to acknowledge because the effort from the players is outstanding."

Chelsea's success over Everton strengthened their standing in fourth in the Premier League table, with a Carabao Cup last-eight clash at Cardiff and a league trip to Newcastle scheduled next week.

Speculation Regarding Maresca's Comments

It was ambiguous who or what caused Maresca to describe the past 48 hours as the worst of his spell as Chelsea head coach.

In that window, the coach had traveled back with his backroom team and players from his native Italy, held a training session at Cobham, faced a pre-match news conference where he appeared relaxed, and engineered a win over an high-flying Everton team.

It was not obvious whether any particular media reports had irked him, if online comments played a role, or if it was something more significant from within the club at Stamford Bridge.

Maresca specifically took care to rule out that it was an issue involving the club's fans, a section of which have still have yet to fully embrace him since his appointment from Leicester in July 2024.